Savior
by K.E.Nuss
Summary: Traitor. He heard that word often, it defined him. But he was a traitor because he was a savior. He sacrificed himself, and he never needed anyone to do the same for him. But, even Uchiha Itachi needs to be saved, and she would be the one to do it.
1. Prologue

"_Heheh, gomen, Itachi-san, but, it looks like this is the end for you_…" the words of his former partner, Hoshigake Kisame, rang in his ears as he lie in the snow, bleeding anger and hate from the wounds that covered his now fragile body. He'd been left to bleed out and die, whether it would be from the cold or the blood loss, he didn't know, but he was going to die. A damp cough wracked his body and blood escaped his mouth, forming a steady river down his chin. His eyes stung as the hot liquid flowed over them, turning his vision red.

He made no move to get up, no move to even adjust the awkward position of his right leg, which was most likely broken. What was the point of trying to save him self? He had nothing left to live for. No one wanted him alive. He'd lost his place in the Akatsuki. He'd never felt so hopeless. In fact, he'd never felt hopeless in the first place. He fought still, to keep his eyes open, he at least wanted to see the surroundings in which he left the world. Everything was white, white and cold.

A slender figure approached from the distance, only visible because of the long, dark locks escaping from beneath a white hood. To his surprise, the figure broke into a run when it seemed to notice him. The body knelt beside him, and he heard a feminine voice asking him frantically if he was ok, or, at least that what he assumed was coming from her mouth.

The angel of death had finally come to relieve him of his misery. So often, he'd thought about ending it all himself. But no, he told himself he had a reason to live. That was to protect someone. But now that she had finally come for him, he closed his eyes, waiting for the noise in his ears to quiet, for the cold on his skin to disappear, for the metallic taste in his mouth to dissolve into nothing. And it seemed that it was, as warmth enveloped his aching body, and the world fell silent.

The slight splash of water and the feeling of a hot cloth on his cheek awoke him, and he slowly opened his eyes. There, was his angel of death, tending to him gently. He let out a groan as the hot water stung him, there was no need to hide weaknesses anymore, it was over.

She seemed surprised, and jumped at the sound of his voice, as her gaze drifted quickly from his cheek to his eyes. She was beautiful. Who knew death had such a face? Her features were clear cut and unmarked, eyes glowing brightly like pink diamonds. Smooth, shimmering black hair framed her perfectly, like a picture. She smiled softly at him, and he again felt overwhelmed with warmth.

"You're awake," she spoke softly, her voice like heaven's soft touch on his ears. "I'm so glad, your wounds were so bad, I, I didn't know if you were going to make it," relief laced her silky voice. She watched him carefully.

He just stared at her, his angel of death. Through blurred vision, he saw her, sitting so perfectly next to him. He was lying on cotton sheets, a blanket pulled over him, leaving his torso exposed. Her hands seemed to glow as they rested over him. He let out a calm breath.

"What happened to you?" she asked. "Oh, you probably shouldn't speak, there's no need to waste precious energy," she corrected herself quickly.

"Shouldn't you know the answer to that?" he responded, his voice was hoarse as his throat was burned. He watched as she furrowed her brow.

"What? No, I found you lying in the snow," she answered him, a bit confused. She pulled her hands away from his injuries and the glow dissipated.

"…" He said nothing; somehow, telling her she was his angel of death seemed like it would not be the right thing to say.

"Oh, I suppose I should just be glad that you're alive, after all, you were bleeding so much," she smiled at him with that smile. It was like a glimpse of peace, and it seemed to be meant for him and him alone.

But…alive? He wasn't alive…he was dead, right? If he was alive, then she was no angel of death. She was simply a girl trying to help him. With this realization, he expected the warmth he felt in her presence to disappear. But it remained.

Neither of them said any more, as she continued to dress his wounds, finishing by placing a bandage around his head, and a patch on his cheek. She pulled the cotton blanket over him, the end of it just below his chin. His eyes followed her carefully.

She stood, and looked around, before deciding on a direction in which to move and walking, no, 'walking' was such an unfitting word, she glided. She glided across the hardwood floor and out of his range of sight. He closed his eyes. The departure of her face had taken with it his desire to view his surroundings.

Sleep greeted him happily, and he drifted off.

In the next week or so, he was awake much more frequently, and he spoke to her a little bit more each day. He found out that her name was Miyagi Sumiko. What a perfect name. It was just as graceful as she herself. Soon, he was even able to sit up, with the help of Sumiko of course. With this new accomplishment, he was able to view his current residence with greater ease. To the right of his cotton bed, was a small room. There was a large stone fireplace a few feet away from the head of his cot, with an ever-present blaze eating hungrily at the wood that drowned in its depths. On the wall opposite him, was a single window, which held a white view. Beside it, was a door that led to the frigid cold outside. In the far corner was a small kitchen with an old stove and a fridge, separated by wooden counters, beneath which were cabinets. At the foot of his bed, not ten feet away, was a staircase, which led to two more rooms inside the small cottage. One was a bathroom, the other was, as he had learned, Sumiko's bedroom.

When they spoke, she did most of the talking, asking questions she didn't expect answers too. She would frequently ask his name, and then silently scold herself, saying he could tell her when he was ready. She was a medic Nin, and a fairly skilled shinobi. She didn't hold loyalties to any shinobi village, simply protected the small town a half a mile from her doorstep. In return, the people provided her with clothing, food, and firewood.

On this particular day, she had been redressing his wounds; with fresh bandages she'd picked up the day before when she went to town. She asked him again, "What's your name?" before shaking her head. "Forgive, me, I keep asking you the same question, there's no need to answer if you don't feel the time is appropriate-"

"Itachi." he cut her off quietly. "My name is Itachi."

She blinked, her pink gaze resting in his own charcoal eyes for a moment. "Itachi," she repeated slowly, committing it to memory. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Itachi. I don't suppose you have a surname as well? Oh! There I go again," she smiled sheepishly.

"Uchiha," He answered her. He expected her to back away from him quickly, as so many shinobi would, or to show fear, and then call him a criminal, a disgusting, loathsome creature who didn't deserve to roam the earth.

But, "Uchiha Itachi," she didn't. "Well, I finally have something to call you, hm?" She just smiled. This so surprised him that he gave her a questioning glance.

"You don't recognize," he started, to be answered by her nod.

"I know who you are. But, as far as I'm concerned, Itachi, I've nothing to fear from you. You've shown no intention of harming me thus far, and though you may think me a fool I do not fear you." she stated firmly, though not harshly. She placed his sullen bandages into the bowl that rested on the small stool to his right, and stood, lifting it and leaving his side, to dispose of them in the fire. Her next move was to the kitchen, where she checked on the rice she had previously been boiling, and began scooping the food into two small bowls.

He watched her, finding no signs of worry, her gaze was not wary of him, in fact, she did not treat him any differently now that she knew his identity then she had not minutes ago when he'd been nothing more to her then an injured teenager, centimeters from death.

It…confused him. It really did. How someone could know who he was and not look at him with hatred or disgust, but Miyagi Sumiko was not by any means a common person. She was a rarity. He, well, he liked it. The way she could speak to him with ease, he was even comfortable with her lack of respect for him, when she called him 'Itachi' as opposed to 'Uchiha-san', or even just 'Itachi-san'. She didn't seem to be one that was fond of formalities. Every time he referred to her as 'Miyagi-san' she would immediately correct him.

"Sumiko, just Sumiko." she corrected him again when he thanked her for the bowl of rice she placed in his fragile hands. "Really, you've no need to be so polite," she sat on the stool and ate with him, as she had been doing since his arrival, whether he was awake or not, she would eat with him.

He picked up a few grains of the steaming white rice with his chopsticks and placed them in his mouth. "Yes, of course." he answered.

"Hm," she smiled, chewing her dinner smoothly behind her rose-colored lips. "Your wounds are healing nicely, though I'm afraid you're going to have a number of scars on your torso, as well as your right leg and your cheek."

"I expected as much," he said between bites of rice. The soft crackle of the fire and the heat it presented calmed him, even if he was still quite on edge.

"You're sixteen, right?" she asked, he nodded. "What a wonderful age to be, I was sixteen not very long ago, but, I do miss it. The innocence," she paused, realizing he was definitely without the innocence of your typical sixteen-year-old boy. "I'm sorry."

"Hn," by this he meant that it was ok, he didn't mind. Though she couldn't read the tones of his voice very well just yet, and so she just assumed the meaning of his one-syllable answers.

"Well, anyway, I'm eighteen now, so not that much older then you are, ne?" she continued. It was so strange to him, how casual she was. "I remember the day I turned sixteen, I went into town to celebrate a bit, and bought myself a beautiful new cloak, it was silk, and the storekeeper gave it to me at such a cheap price, I was so grateful. I still have it, only to be worn for special occasions of course." she winked, for what reason he did not know. But it suited her.

He closed his eyes momentarily, reopening them with his gaze focused on his lap.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, concerned. "Oh, you probably just don't want to hear stories about the shopping habits of a silly teenage girl, do you?" she laughed lightly to herself. "Sorry, sometimes I just can't seem to shut my mouth," Sumiko smiled at him, glancing at his half full bowl of rice.

She sighed. He hadn't been eating much of anything. The thing was, he should have a hearty appetite, because his body required the energy to heal its self. A bit of a frown appeared on her face.

He ran his fingers over the edge of the china he held in his hands. What was he doing? He was being taken care of as though he were a useless, pathetic child, and, he could think of nothing but the face of his host when he closed his eyes. He had more pressing matters. His survival, for one thing, was something that should be much more prominent in his mind then her eyes.

"Itachi, you really should eat more, your body can't heal its self if it doesn't have the energy," she informed him gently.

He already knew this. Why was he listening to anything she said? It's not as though clothes shopping was something he would _ever_ want to hear about. Plus, she was telling him how well he was healing. Of course he was healing well. He was Uchiha Itachi. He was a fast healer. A sigh escaped him, and a decision was formed. As soon as he was healed, he would leave her, and he would never come back.

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh my god. I'm so annoyed with myself. I am working at this very moment on French Braid, and it will be updated by tomorrow. But, I came up with this idea some time ago, and I wrote this one night when my friend signed off of AIM (ihearttoast09, check her out people, her stories kick ass, she rocks). I also have a new theory, if I post more stories, I'll have more variety, and when I lose inspiration for one story, I won't have to force myself to work on it, and I can work on another.**

**So, my newest excuse for taking so long is : my grades sucked and my mom stole away my internet access, and I can only write at my mother's house, because no one reads over my shoulder. XP I hate that. I got it back today.**

**So, now that I've put you throught the pain of an unorganized rant, I simply request that you read, and review.**

**-Wicka**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Naruto.**

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* * *

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"Did you hear? Uchiha Itachi was killed,"

"What? No way, the Uchiha traitor was?"

"Yea, his old Akatsuki partner Hoshigake Kisame was seen with a fugitive from Suna,"

"Well that's not proof that he's dead,"

"I'd say it is, after all, he's been missing for over a month, there's been no sightings what so ever."

"He could just be hiding out for a bit."

"I heard someone saw Hoshigake Kisame murder him!"

"There, that's your proof. Who was it?"

"An ANBU, he was incapacitated afterwards, but he saw it."

"Never though I'd see the day, good reddens."

* * *

He'd been surprised when he'd heard the rumors. He'd been angry. He was supposed to kill Itachi. No one else. He'd cried. Not for Itachi. He'd cried for his clan. He really, truly was the only one left, and with his brother dead, it was real. More real then it had ever been. He was alone.

He realized it, while sitting in the corner of his one-roomed apartment, where he'd spent a good deal of his life living. No one was left but him. He hugged his knees to his chest, burying his face. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to will away the tears. Itachi was dead. That was nothing to cry for. He'd known since he vowed to take his revenge that this was how it would end.

Why did it hurt? It was because not only was he alone, but, he had no purpose.

Even so, with his older brother dead, Sasuke felt he had some closure.

Eleven or so months later, he was done thinking about it. He refused to let it drag him down any longer. The thoughts of his family were nothing but painful memories, which he had forced to the back of his mind.

Unfortunately, he couldn't help that it still put a bitter taste in his mouth. He was always going to be bitter. It was a fate he was bound to. But, it was better than the hatred he'd felt before, the pure loathing for that traitor.

He was, happy. All the time he'd spent plotting his revenge, he'd missed so much. He saw that, after realizing revenge was no longer an option.

He missed out on simple things, like training for the fun of it, instead of thinking how weak he was how insignificant he was, instead of pushing himself harder.

But, he also trained so he could become someone worth looking at. He'd learned over and over that arrogance was nothing compared to real strength.

So, he decided he wasn't going to miss anymore. He laughed, and he smiled. He joked around with his teammates, his friends. He'd become stronger, both as a shinobi, and as a person.

He had a new family now, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura.

In the end, he did owe everything he had to Itachi. But, whenever he thought about this, the bitter taste in his mouth became stronger. And so he suppressed it.

He wouldn't let _any_ thoughts of Itachi ruin what he had now.

"Oi! Teme! Where've you been?" Naruto called hotly from his place on the wooden bridge. Since the beginning, Team 7 had met there. Sasuke was an hour late.

"He's never on time, why should I be?" he smirked, walking onto the bridge as well. He leaned back against the railing, a light breeze blowing his raven hair from his face.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun," Sakura waved, pushing her long pink bangs from her face.

"Sakura," he nodded to her, giving a smile hat had become more frequent in recent months.

She blushed. Sakura found herself falling even more for this new Sasuke. He was so much kinder to her, and his eyes seemed to be more serene. It made her feel less frantic.

With a loud pop, Kakashi was in the center of the group.

The three jumped back in surprise.

* * *

_He didn't leave when he'd healed. In fact, he stayed. With open arms, she'd welcomed him, and he became a permanent resident in her home._

"_I'm so glad you're going to stay!" she smiled at him, laughing as she took a bite of her rice. She was sitting comfortably on a stool beside his bed, where he was exhibiting his usual perfect posture._

"_I have nowhere else to go." he replied monotonously, keeping his face blank as always._

"_That may be so but I wasn't expecting you to stay, Itachi-chan." She'd taken to giving him a nickname that he wasn't particularly fond of. It made him sound like he was five years old. She said it was, 'cute'._

_He sighed, giving her a bit of a glare. If it'd been anyone other his 'angel of death', as he'd originally thought her to be, he probably would have forced her to drop the 'chan'. She laughed._

"_Ah, well, if you're going to stay, you should really get some new clothes, ne? I'm afraid you're a little to big for my brother's old outfits," she raised an eyebrow, stealing a glance at the shirt he was wearing, which was a little short in the sleeves and torso, but not so much that it looked ridiculous. "Which means you'll have to go into town with me,"_

_He furrowed his brow. "I don't think that's a good idea." He didn't need a random, insignificant Akatsuki spy, should there be one in this pathetically small village, telling his used-to-be leader about his living state._

"_Oh, right, you have a bit of a record, hmm…" she tapped her chopsticks against her chin thoughtfully, looking him up and down. A 'bit of a record'. Right. Nothing big, just a tiny little misdemeanor. "We could cut your hair, you'd be much less recognizable, and it's a bit more traditional in Snow Country for men to keep their hair short."_

_Cut his hair? But, he didn't want to. As childish as it was, he'd grown a little attached. However, if he wanted to stay, if he wanted to go on without being caught and killed, a change in appearance would probably only help his situation. "…Hn." Ok._

"_Alright, I'll do it before we leave today." she cleared her throat, eating a few more grains of rice. "I do have to tell you, there are some rules, if you're going to stay here."_

_He raised an eyebrow. Rules? He wasn't exactly the obedient type. He wondered briefly if she was all there._

"_First, You can't make a mess of this place, I have a hard enough time as it is keeping it clean and I'm the only one here." he scoffed at this, looking around and seeing that it was definitely the truth. "Second, when I have patients who are particularly sick, I keep them here until I can make them better. In that time, you have to help me if I ask for it. I've been thinking about recruiting an apprentice for some time. I've trained a few of the kids in the village with some minor techniques, but I can't really keep them here full time."_

"_I'm not your apprentice." he stated firmly. She blinked._

"_Ah, yes, I get ahead of myself sometimes. Forgive me, Itachi-chan." she smiled. "Anyway, I'm also the only real shinobi in the recent area, so, should this village come under attack for some reason, I request your assistance, I'm well aware of how incredibly strong you are, it would be much appreciated."_

"…" _he clenched his jaw. He couldn't help her. So, he remained silent._

_She furrowed her brow, looking at him with concern. "Itachi-chan, are you ok? Are you in pain?"_

_He set his rice bowl in his lap, staring down at it. "I'm fine."

* * *

_

"We have a mission. It's a C rank." Kakashi explained to the three Chuunin before him.

"Alright! Do you know what it is?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Nope." the three collectively sighed. "But, we have to go to see Tsunade-sama to find out." He had his arms crossed, as he looked over his students.

"Well let's go then!" Sakura, jumped to her feet, her baggy red t-shirt swinging around her. Underneath it, she wore a mesh top, with elbow length sleeves. On her muscle-toned legs, she had skin-tight black slacks, with her black ninja sandals on her feet. Her hands had black fingerless gloves, and her waist length pink hair swung in a pony-tail behind her. She adjusted the forehead protector she wore as a head-band.

Naruto stood as well, wearing oranges pants and black shinobi shoes, with a mesh top similar to Sakura's under a Chuunin vest. "We haven't been out of the country in months!"

Sasuke stretched his arms over his head. He had a skin tight, long sleeve black shirt underneath his own Chuunin vest. The bottom half of his body was clad in his usual white shorts and blue shinobi sandals. He didn't say anything.

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask, pure amusement in his laugh.

* * *

"Miki, calm down," The wolfish black dog whined, sitting down in front of his master obediently. After about twenty minutes of subtly chasing Ton-Ton around the Hokage's office, Suwa Akira had finally become annoyed with his dog. "Good boy." he tapped his fingers against the wooden arm of his chair, staring blankly ahead, unable to see the woman he knew was opposite him.

"You should really have said something earlier, Akira-san." she said gruffly. "Anyway, I've got a team of Chuunin on their way, to escort you back to your village."

"Thank you. Let's hope they can handle the cold." Akira placed a hand on Miki's head, scratching behind his ear, earning a thump of the dog's tail against the floor as he wagged it.

"Mm, I'm sure they won't have a problem." Tsunade watched carefully the spare teenage boy in front of her. He was recently turned seventeen, and five foot eight. His eyes were a piercing blue, and blinded. Short, messy brown hair hung around his angelic face.

He'd come to the village to pick up some new medical supplies for the medic-nin in his village, as well as a book of any new medical techniques he could find. He'd made a point of explaining to Tsunade that said Medic-nin couldn't come herself, as she was the village protector, but that she sent her regards.

"Good, Snow Country is especially cold this time of year." Akira continued to make small talk with the powerful leader, not the least bit intimidated.

"I can imagine, it's chilly here too." she crossed her arms, Shizune stood behind her, Ton-Ton in her arms.

"So, what am I to expect with this team?" Tsunade opened her mouth to answer his question, when the door burst open.

"Naruto!" Sakura roared as she held up her fist, glaring down at him. No doubt her hitting him had been what opened the door. Kakashi and Sasuke stepped over the blond, standing attentively before their leader.

"I suppose _that_ is what you can expect." Tsunade stood, rolling her eyes.

"Hm, interesting," Akira stood as well, sensing it was appropriate, and turned, careful not to catch his foot on the leg of the chair. "_Miki_." he reprimanded his dog firmly before the creature could complete his jump onto the shinobi that had so caught his attention.

Miki huffed, sitting down in front of his master once again, still eyeing the team.

By this point, Sakura and Naruto had taken position in front of Kakashi.

"So, Baa-chan, what's our mission?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"You will be escorting this man back to his village in Snow Country." she gestured to Akira. Sakura's eyes grew tremendously, and she did her best not to gasp at the utter gorgeousness of his face. "His name is Suwa Akira."

"Nice to meet you Suwa-san," Kakashi greeted. "I am Hatake Kakashi, and this is my team," he sounded almost ashamed, "Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Akira furrowed his brow. "Uchiha, eh?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes." So, this guy knew about his family?

"Interesting," he smiled. "And please, call me Akira." Miki barked. "And this is my dog, Miki, you'll have to excuse him, he's a bit rude." he laughed lightly as the dog growled.

"So this is just for basic protection then?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes, I'm blind, so I have a bit of trouble telling if someone is coming up behind me." Akira answered. "My sister would have a fit if I came back all on my own," he smiled sheepishly.

Sakura loved it. What a great smile. He rivaled the Uchiha beside her in his looks.

"You will leave in one hour." Tsunade cut in, still eyeing Akira. "So go gather the necessary items. Dismissed."

"That was a short briefing." Naruto shrugged, shoving his hands carelessly in his pockets as he exited the room. His comrades followed.

"I'll say," the rosette commented. Kakashi remained behind.

"So, Akira-san, I have to ask, we've been conned in the past," he began. "There is no one after you, correct?"

"Not that I know of, I'm not a very popular person. Just a kid sent to pick up a few things." he lifted the messenger bag for Kakashi to see, before placing the strap over his shoulder.

* * *

"_Ready?" Sumiko held a kunai beneath the base of his pony-tail, ready to slice it off. He rolled his eyes._

"_Just cut it." annoyance was evident in his voice. The sound of ripping paper echoed in his ears, as his now short hair fell around his face. He was slouched over, his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand, sitting on a stool. The fire was warm, and bright._

_She dangled his severed hair in front of his face. "I think it might have been longer then mine, Itachi," she laughed a bit. After discarding the bulk of his hair, she started trimming the ends, evening out the cut. When she'd finished, his hair was chin length all the way around, bangs included. He ran a hand through it, finding it odd, when he reached the base of his neck and all he could feel was his skin._

_She stood in front of him, smiling at her work. "It looks good on you,"_

"_Hn." he ran his hand through it a few more times, trying to get used to the feel of it._

_It was weird. It was different. He'd had the same hair since he was around six years old, but, now that it was gone, he felt, different._

"_You like it?" she asked, not really expecting him to answer her._

"_Yes." she blinked, grinning at him. Always grinning, it wasn't a bad sight.

* * *

_

Akira whistled, as they walked through the forest. "Miki! Fetch!" he tossed a rubber ball, as far as he could ahead of him. With an enthusiastic bark, the dog ran after it. Akira laughed.

"Isn't he supposed to be guiding you?" Asked Sakura, her eyes focused on his face.

"It's all for show. That's why my sister got him for me, buuuut, I can figure out where I'm going just fine." he waved it off.

"That dog is psycho," Naruto commented, watching as the canine found a squirrel, and ran after it, ball in his mouth, barking.

"He's got his quirks," he laughed, hearing Miki scratch at tree bark, knowing he was trying to climb it. "Miki! Come here boy!" he clapped his hands, and the dog came running. He tossed the ball again, and Miki bounded forward.

"Why were you in Konoha anyway?" Sasuke asked, walking calmly on Akira's other side.

"Picking up supplies for my village's medic-nin, she's been running low lately." he explained, adjusting the strap on his shoulder.

"Medic, eh?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Yup, my best friend happens to live with her, one of them anyway, he showed up out of no where about a year ago, and he was pretty beat up. She took him in. Anyway, I see her a lot because of it. Not to mention my sister likes to make me go for check-ins for my eyes." he rolled his eyes. "Which I don't understand, I'm already blind."

"Mm," Sasuke gave a bit of an amused smile. "How old is she? Your sister,"

"She's pushing sixteen," he answered, throwing the ball for Miki again.

"Aren't you older then she is?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yea, well, you'd never know it," he grinned sheepishly. "She's a bossy little brat, and she's got the upper hand since I can't see her."

"Ah," Sasuke rolled his shoulders.

"You got any siblings?" Akira asked, keeping his gaze ahead of him.

"No." he answered, watching Miki thrash around in a bush, trying to find either his ball or some poor unfortunate woodland creature.

"You're lucky then,"

He would've been, wouldn't he? If he hadn't ever had a brother, things would be so different, so much better. He'd still have his family, and someone to love him. Of course, this was nothing more then a dream. But, it was one of his favorites. A world where there was never an Itachi would be a great place.

"God I miss the snow," Akira stretched his arms over his head. "It's like a million degrees here,"

"It is not! It's cold!" Naruto countered, giving the older boy a confused look.

"Yea well, when you grow up playing in snow banks this place seems pretty damn warm." he grinned. "Haven't had a snow ball fight in weeks,"

"A what?" Naruto questioned. "What's that?"

"Baka, it's when you throw snow at each other." Sakura explained.

"Well don't expect _me_ to know that! It doesn't snow around here!" he hollered defensively. "So, how's it work?" he looked back to Akira.

"Well, usually, we split up into teams, five people a team, Ryu, Yuki, Tsukiyo Itachi and me are one team, and then these other guys who don't really matter are another team."

Wait, what? "Itachi?" Sasuke furrowed his brow. There was no way.

Kakashi cast him a glance, curious as well. He knew the official status of Uchiha Itachi was that he was dead, but, it's not as though they had anything other then rumors to go on.

"Oh, yea, he's pretty good, got damn good aim." he grinned. "He's the one who lives with Miyagi-Sensei, the medic."

"Is he a shinobi?" Sasuke asked, watching Akira's face contort into a confused expression.

"No, he's pretty decent at martial arts, but, he has trouble manipulating chakra, so, it's impossible for him to be a shinobi." Akira explained. "I've seen him try, it doesn't work that well. I don't really know why, since he knows so much about it," this was a question he'd never received the answer to.

"Oh," relief. Kakashi was relieved too, he had no way of knowing what Sasuke would do if, god forbid, Uchiha Itachi was still alive.

He kept a constant look out as they walked. As always, he was observant, looking for any sign of enemy shinobi. He really hoped Suwa Akira was not the target of anyone significant.

"So anyway, we make balls out of the snow and if you pack 'em tight enough they hurt to get hit with. The idea is to hit the other team enough times that they're too sore to keep going," he called Miki, tossing the ball for him again. "We always win, Tsukiyo, my sister, has one hell of a throw and Itachi doesn't stay down. Ryu and Yuki are kind of useless because they like to hide behind our snow bank and flirt," he rolled his eyes.

"So how do you play if you can't see?" Naruto asked, definitely wanting to try this game.

"Well, Miyagi-Sensei taught me a thing or two about sensing chakra. She says it's like a sixth sense. And when you lose one sense, like sight," he pointed to his eyes, "The others get stronger. So, she got me to the point where I can sense the silhouettes of people. I just aim for the center."

"Cool," Naruto watched as Miki ran up to Akira again, ball in his mouth, barking. "Can I throw it?"

"Sure, go ahead. He's gonna make you one of his new best friends though. Itachi threw it for him once or twice and now Miki here's obsessed with the poor guy,"

"Whatever," he took the ball from Miki's mouth, watching him run ahead a few steps, jumping in the air, wagging his tail and barking. "Fetch!" he threw the ball as far as he could, watching the wolfish creature bound after it.

"How far is it to Snow Country anyway?" Naruto asked, laughing as the dog ran into a bush to get the ball, and whacked his head against the trunk, freeing a couple of golden leaves from their branches.

"Not far. We should be there in a day or so." Kakashi answered.

* * *

That night, the small team of Shinobi had decided to stop and stay in an inn for the night, in a small town on the edge of snow country for the night. It was beginning to get cold, and a light, constant drizzle had begun as they'd gotten closer. Sasuke, Naruto, and Akira had stayed in one room, while Sakura and Kakashi stayed in another. Being the only girl, and Naurto's crush, she didn't want to risk staying in a room with him.

"So, you know of the Uchiha clan?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask. It seemed pretty coincidental that he'd have a friend by the name of Itachi, and show interest at the name 'Uchiha'.

"Well, sort of," Akira answered. He took his place on a bed, a worn out Miki lying beside him with his eyes closed. "I don't know much, but, I've heard some things about a traitor by that name…" he furrowed his brow, trying to remember.

"Oh." Sasuke looked down at his lap, glaring.

"Hey, why do you let your sister tell you what to do?" Naruto burst out suddenly. "You don't look _that_ stupid that you'd need her orderin' you around all the time."

"Oh, yea, well, there was a fire, a long time ago, in the village, my parents died in it. They were patients in that house at the time. I was going with my sister to visit them, and when we were coming up to it, freaked out because of the fire, the sparks fell into my eyes. She'd told me not to go that close." He recalled, yawning. "But I didn't listen to her, and so I'm blind now. I decided a while ago that listening to her was the best way to go, since I could still be able to see if I had then. She's kind of been taking care of me since then," he smiled sheepishly, a bit embarrassed to say that his little sister was the one in charge.

"Oh…that sucks," Naruto commented awkwardly.

"Nah, it happened, nothing I can do about it now. Gotta accept things the way they are. Everything happens for a reason." He grinned. Sasuke gave the older boy an odd look.

'Everything happens for a reason'. For what reason did his family get massacred? For what reason did his brother become a traitor? Not everything happens for a reason. No way.

"I figure there's a plan set out for people, kind of like a destiny. It's not unmovable, but some things just have to happen. Like my parent's deaths, they were really sick, and if they'd stayed home, and avoided the fire, they still would have died. But then again, me and Tsukiyo might not be here either. We could have caught the sickness, whatever it was."

"Ohhh," Naruto nodded in agreement. His face looked distorted, as he tried to pretend he understood Akira's way of thinking.

Sasuke did not say anymore. He didn't like this philosophy. Not at all. There was n good reason for his family to die. No good reason for his brother to do what he did. Sasuke couldn't see the reasoning behind any of it. Was there a reason Orochimaru had attacked him in the forest of death? Some underlying destiny that it would bring about? It was all pointless. All useless.

Unless that reason was to ruin his life, there wasn't one.

* * *

"Sumiko," Itachi began, rubbing his eyes as he sat on the floor by a patient of hers.

"Yea?" she called from the kitchen, where she was making them lunch.

"How much longer?" since he'd decided to stay with her, he'd become more and more childish in his ways. It wasn't nearly to the point where he was kicking and screaming, but, he did have a tendency to ask stupid questions now and then, or make some sarcastic remark.

"Like a half hour relax." She was always amused by this, and gave a small laugh every time. He suspected this was why he kept up the 'childish' antics.

"…how about now?" she laughed again, and he sighed, inwardly, he cracked a smile.

"You know, Akira should be getting back about now. Why don't you go look for him? Leave me to cook in peace," she suggested.

Itachi thought this was a good idea. Over time, he'd actually started to 'make friends'. As strange as it sounded for someone like him, it was far more fulfilling then walking around with a big blue man and killing people.

But, he didn't go. He tried to avoid at all costs going anywhere by himself. He wouldn't take any chances. He felt weak because of it, but he was still clinging to life. He was beginning to find things to live for again. He also felt guilty, because his brother was no longer one of those reasons. Surely by 'dying', he'd improved the boy's life greatly. Maybe his happiness was more important than having the village see him as a hero. That was Itachi's new theory on the situation. His brother deserved to be happy.

"I'd rather not." He stated. "If he brings back a team,"

"Ah, I see what you mean." She nodded in understanding. "But what if none of them recognize you? And after all, surely they would sense the issue with your chakra control,"

He narrowed his eyes. He criticized her chakra control often, saying it was sloppy. He'd even begun to train her to improve it. But talking about his own chakra was an infuriating subject. "No."

She sighed. "Alright, I won't make you risk it." Like she could, "Then what do you plan to do when he brings them here? Hide?"

He didn't want to, but that's what was best. "I will remain upstairs."

The young girl in the bed behind him groaned. "Itachi-san…" he'd been tending to her for Sumiko in the past few days while she did her usual shopping in town, stocking up food for the next month.

"Hai," he answered, standing and turning to face her. She was small, and he'd met her a long time ago, on his first trip into town with Sumiko. They'd gone to the market, after she bought him some well-fitting clothes and a cloak. Her grandmother had been selling them rice, and she'd come to Sumiko for assistance, having scraped her knee playing in the street with her friends. Her name was Mai.

"My throat hurts," she whined. She'd caught a bad case of the Flu, and was staying in Sumiko's home as it was rather contagious in such a small town. She broke into a fit of dry coughs.

Itachi nodded, having learned well what to do to ease her symptoms. He went into the kitchen, pouring her a cup of tea with honey.

Sumiko watched him proudly. He refused to be called her apprentice, and instead decided that in return for teaching her how to conserve her chakra better, it was only fair she teach him a thing or two about medicine. She still thought of him a bit like her apprentice, though he could never perform any of the necessary Jutsus to become a legitimate medic-nin.

The Uchiha carried the cup over to her, gesturing for her to sit up before handing her the tea. She whined as she moved, one of her stronger symptoms being muscle aches, and being only seven, she didn't handle the pain all that well. Even so, her crush on Itachi caused her to try her very hardest to smother the tears and whines.

She couldn't have him thinking she was a crybaby.

She sipped the tea, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. She was exhausted. She stopped, having only finished half of it, to cough again.

"Finish it." He ordered. His voice was neutral. She did as she was told.

* * *

"_What was that?" he asked, seeing easily her waste of chakra, even without his advanced eyes._

"_That was me healing her." Sumiko returned to her original position, standing in front of a vendor. She gave the little girl a soft smile and was thanked. "You're all better, Mai-chan." At this, Mai rushed back into the streets, picking up a handful of snow as she went._

"_It was a waste of chakra." He corrected her, glancing down slightly at the woman, who was but a few centimeters shorter then himself._

"_Oh really, mister S-class, well forgive me if I don't live up to your impossible standards." She joked, making a show of it as she placed her hand son her hips. Her white cloak was pushed aside as she did so._

"_It will improve." He stated bluntly, his facial expression blank._

"_Will it?" she raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you plan to teach me, Itachi-chan."_

_He narrowed his eyes at the nickname. "I am in debt, and it will be paid." As he said this, he touched the scar on his cheek, still pink and very new._

"_Ah, so you _are _going to teach me," she grinned widely, a bit excited at being taught by one of the greatest shinobi in the world. "It couldn't hurt."_

"_You need it." He stated, pulling his brand new cloak tighter around himself. He had yet to get used to the cold temperatures of the Snow country. After all, he was from the warm Country of Fire._

"_Aren't we cocky today." She rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, we need to buy some food for dinner tonight." There was an amused tone under her firm voice. She took his hand and continued to pull him into the market._

_He blinked in surprise at this, completely shocked that anyone would dare to take his hand, whether they feared him or not. He could easily have broken her hand, crushed it into a million tiny pieces, and yet she didn't seem to care. Or, maybe she didn't notice. Perhaps she just didn't understand how severe his power is. Or, was._

_He didn't do anything about it however, her hand was warm, and he felt as though he were freezing to death._

_It was an outdoor market, with men and women selling various fruits, vegetables, meats, and other types of food. The people in this village wore long sleeves and pants, often black to attract the warmth of the sun. High, think black boots were often worn as footwear. Though, as it seemed to Itachi, everyone owned the same clothes, the same thick, white cloaks, several of the vendors as well as their children, who were playing in the street, had shed them._

_Sumiko, when she'd brought him to a clothing store, had gotten him a similar, if not the exact same outfit, as many of the other residents of the village. After she'd cut his hair, not a week ago, he looked different, which was definitely a plus for him. But, his usually covered neck was now exposed to the frigid air. And so he pulled the turtleneck collar of his shirt as high as it would go. Most of the other boys his age, who were having it out in the snowy streets with hand packed chunks of what looked like ice, had wide collared shirts, finding the turtle necks to be far to constricting._

"_What do you want for dinner Itachi?" she asked, picking up a few different vegetables, checking for freezer burn very carefully, as it was a common occurrence in Snow._

"_Hn." He didn't care all that much. She brightened up._

"_How about dumplings and rice?" she suggested. "I'll need some flower…" she trailed off, furrowing her brow and going to the next vendor after paying for the vegetables._

"_Sumiko-chan, have a new companion I see?" an older woman, wrapped in her cloak, asked from behind her stand of rice bags._

"_Oh, yes, I do. This is my current patient, Itachi," she smiled at the old woman._

_Itachi looked her over. Her face was pale, and wrinkled. She was not a large woman, but very thin and delicate looking. She looked as though she was once very beautiful._

"_Nice to meet you, Itachi-kun," she greeted, nodding her head in acknowledgement. A few stray grey hairs fell into her face, and she brushed them away with a wrinkled hand, her fierce green eyes looking at him._

"_Baa-chan!" the little girl from earlier, Mai, rushed over and looked up at the elderly woman. "My team won! Isn't that great?!"_

_Team? Itachi looked over into the streets from which she had come, a few children, no older than ten, were throwing snow at each other._

"_Hi again, Sumiko-Sensei!"She grinned up at the pink-eyed woman._

"_Hello, Mai-chan," Sumiko gave a bit of a laugh._

"_So he's your new patient? I was gonna ask who he was but I had to go back 'nd fight," she stated triumphantly, before locking her gaze on Itachi's form. A slight blush tinted her cheeks when he made eye contact with her for a brief moment._

"_Yes, he is," she responded, giving Itachi an amused look as he fidgeted slightly under the little girl's interested gaze._

"_What's he sick with?" she looked to Sumiko, exhibiting the same green eyes as her grandmother._

"_He's got a bit of a cold, but he's not sick, Mai-chan." She answered, being sure not to mention the actual circumstances of their meeting._

"_Then why's he stayin' with you? If he's not sick, he can go home," Itachi closed his eyes at this._

"_Mai-chan, don't be so nosy, leave the poor boy alone." Her grandmother ordered, giving her a look._

_Mai sighed. "Hai, Baa-chan," she bowed her head in respect._

"_Now go back and play with your friends. Ok?" at this, Mai huffed, giving Itachi one more slightly embarrassed, yet curious look, before she ran off once again. "Gomen, Itachi-kun. Please forgive her; she loves to be in everyone else's business."_

_Itachi said nothing, but opened his eyes again to spare the woman a glance._

"_It's alright," Sumiko answered for him, giving a warm smile. "I think she may end up developing a crush on him, that's all it is," the woman exchanged amused expressions, giggling a bit._

_Itachi wrinkled his nose ever so slightly. The last thing he needed was some little girl having a stupid crush on him._

"_Do you have a larger container of rice?" While Sumiko engaged in pleasant conversation, he stayed close by her side. In his current injured state and with the effects of Leader-sama's Jutsu in place, he would be helpless if someone recognized him, a shinobi, anyway. It was wiser to stay by the side of an able-bodied Konoichi, a medic-nin no less._

_She would be his only line of defense.

* * *

_

"So, Kisame, I've heard some interesting rumors." A young, ex-sand ninja sat on the ground at the base of a tall sakura tree, pink petals falling in his hair. "Apparently, someone thought they saw Uchiha Itachi, in Snow Country, alive." he looked up through his brown hair, at the large, shark like man standing in front of him.

"That's not possible, Yukio-san." he stated in annoyance. This new partner got on his nerves so easily, it was obnoxious. The missing-nin from Sunagakure, Furubashi Yukio, irritated him for one main reason. He believed that by joining Akatsuki. And being made partner to Kisame, as well as being assigned the task of retrieving the Kyuubi Kitsune, made him the next Uchiha Itachi. He thought that this made him better then the ex-Konohagakure ninja. He was also incredibly disappointed to hear that Kisame had killed him off, and since had been trying very hard to find out whether or not he'd done so successfully.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard a rumor about a sighting. Kisame sometimes wondered if he had more connections then Pein himself.

"Yes, it is. You never stayed to make sure he was dead. You just assumed he'd freeze to death. He was seen in a village very close to that place, and there's a medic-nin there. For all you know he was saved at the last minute and he's still alive."

"Uchiha Itachi was not a stupid man. He'd never stay in the same place that long, to begin with. Not with so many people out to get him." Kisame narrowed his eyes at the younger Akatsuki. Though he couldn't say he was ever friends with the Uchiha, he held a great deal of respect for him. It didn't sit well with him to have this amateur spitting on his name and reputation.

"Maybe that's why he's there, because you'd expect him to do the opposite. He's playing mind games with you." Yukio stated, smirking a bit as he played with a kunai in his fingers.

"Uchiha Itachi is dead. I killed him myself. Even if he were to have survived, it's unlikely he would've made it this long, with what Leader-sama did to him." he continued to glare at the other shinobi.

"No matter what you say, I'm going to find him." he got to his feet, a determined smirk on his face. "I'm going to fight him, and I'm going to kill him."

"Itachi is already dead. And Yukio-san, were you to fight him in that state, you'd only win because he wouldn't be able to fight back. You will not ever live up to his name."

* * *

**Author's Note****: Well. Chapter one, here it is! I know there are a lot of original characters in this one, probably not a favorite of most. But give it a shot, I don't think it's to bad of a story plot.**

**So, lots of stuff going on here. Sasuke going to be kind of OOC from the way he's portrayed in the Manga at first, since he thinks Itachi's dead and all. Itachi will be too, wince he's kind of dropped the shinobi life. They will eventually revert back to their old ways.**

**I always liked the idea of someone trying to live up to Itachi, and be better then him. So, that's where Yukio comes from. He's kind of an ass, and Kisame doesn't appreciate him, but oh well. **_**I**_** like him, that's all that matters. lol.**

**REVIEW**

**-Wicka**


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